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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Salad or salsa? You decide!

angoes: from the first bite I was hooked. Like eating sunshine, I said at the time, and I still stand by that statement. Don't get me wrong, I've had a bad mango or two since that first one... stringy or mushy or dark spots, ugh. But especially when picked ripe on their home turf (Mexico, Australia...), they are just divine.

So when I saw the local grocery produce dude piling them up all Mt. Everest-like, I had to pick a few off the pile to take home. Had no clue what I would make with them, but again, this isn't one I have to worry too much about sharing around. The boys will help me polish off dried mangoes any old day, but no one really says "me too!" to my mango salad experiments. And tonight I was thankful for that--last thing I wanted to do was share this bowl of mango goodness! I still can't decide whether it's a salad or a salsa, but given that I ate it with tortilla chips, the question just might be answered...

Combine first six ingredients in a bowl, drizzle olive oil and lime juice and toss. Add salt to taste. Server over greens, or with tortilla chips, whichever suits you.

This really hit the spot with me tonight. I spent a couple of hours getting the drip system ready to roll again (benefit of mild weather has been putting that sorry task off for too long), and was tired and wet (wild sprinklers) and hungry. I devoured half of the salad in no time, and will enjoy the rest for lunch tomorrow!

Just in case you find the prospect of peeling and cubing a mango intimidating (I know I did the first time I tried it), I've included a handy little video on cutting up mangoes. While I think the technique shows the right way to accomplish the task, I take issue with the actual mango being cut up--it's way green. (Which of course makes for easier cutting.) I only say that to encourage ample mango ripening, thus adding to the sunshine quotient in the fruit!